Road Test: Holden Barina

Review by Peter Maniatis - 25/March/2009

We all have to tighten our belts during these tough economic times and its understandable that car makers are turning their focus to selling and marketing their smaller, more nimble and economical cars to the motoring public.

Locally, Holden has the Korean-made Barina as one of its trump cards, offering the market a more affordable alternative to the Toyota Yaris, Ford Fiesta and Mazda2.

The Mazda2 attracts buyers with its stylish design, the Toyota Yaris is all about rock solid reliability, and the new Ford Fiesta has combined both of these attributes to good effect.

The Holden Barina's hook is it's name, one of the most recognisable in Australia.

Priced from under $15,000, the Barina nameplate has represented the value end of Holden's range for more than two decades, arriving on Australian shores in 1985.

Originally a rebadged Suzuki in the mid 1980s, then a Spanish-built Opel in 1990s, the famous "Beep Beep Barina" catchphrase is well remembered by many.

In 2005 the Barina became a South Korean car and now the imported Asian car has been updated once again with improved safety and design features.

My first impressions of the Barina were a little below par, which reflects where Holden decided to focus its smaller cars a few years ago.

As Kia and Hyundai and even some Japanese brands dropped the prices of their vehicles, Holden wanted to compete with its lower priced rivals.

So late in 2005 Holden felt that the local market was not as discerning as it originally thought and decided to replace its European-import mid and small-sized cars with Korean equivalents.

It certainly was able to offer those sectors cheaper products, but is that what the Holden brand represents and should focus on in Australia?

The Barina I drove felt quite roomy inside – the materials and dash were more than adequate for what these cars are meant to represent and I must say the engine was very spritely and offered lots of fun, lots of get up and go.

On the highway the Barina felt a little bit unsteady but I'm a Commodore driver and I'm used to heavier cars, so this tiny 1116kg car tended to be affected by cross winds and truck turbulence. 

It's small enough to park anywhere - it's 3.88 metres long and a very narrow 1.67 metres wide -  and very handy for city maneuverability. 

Holden's 2009 model Barina has quite good glass around the car so you can see which shoe box you are parking the car into with ease. 

Oh, did I mention the zippy engine? Really loved it. It generates more torque than the Toyota Yaris and at lower engine revolutions, meaning you have access to more acceleration without having to use as much petrol. Theoretically anyway.

But the car in general felt a bit flimsy. As in, not very solid. 

This could be said of many cars in the compact segment, but I thought it didn't feel very steady on the road and it didn't give me that sense of being all that safe. But in reality the Barina is a much safer car than it used to be.

Holden's compact car was criticised a few years ago when the only safety systems were twin front airbags, and it scored a dismal 2 out of 5 stars in the ANCAP safety tests.

However this new model boasts four airbags as standard thanks to the inclusion of side-impact airbags. 

The B-pillar structure of the Barina (the middle pillar) has been reinforced via higher density steel and these changes have improved its ANCAP safety rating from a below average 2 stars to a very good 4 out of 5 stars.

However ABS (anti-skid braking system) is still not a standard feature of the Barina.

To me, this incarnation of the Barina is trying to be what the Hyundai Excel was in the 1990s – cheap, disposable and within reach of absolutely everyone.

But is that what the Holden brand should represent? I don't think so.

To me the Holden brand is more about value for money. 

Hop in a brand-new VE Calais and it feels like you are driving a 5-Series BMW that costs a 1/3 of the price – there's a sense that you are getting European quality at Australian build standards and price.

But I digress...

The Barina's peppy 1.6-litre engine suits the car very nicely and delivers good economy (6.9L/100km), but I couldn't help thinking that corners had been cut.

I'd love to see Holden offering something more elegant and robust at this price and hopefully the new Cruze being built in South Australia in 2010 will be of European quality and Korean pricing.

All that said and done, if you are in the market for this type of small sized car, the Barina stacks up well.

It is finished well enough – has a great engine (I really did like the performance) with good fuel economy and a surfeit of standard features:

Driver and front passenger airbags
Steering wheel-mounted audio controls
Heated power exterior mirrors
Air conditioning
Power steering
MP3-compatible sound system with CD player
Power windows (front only on 2-door models)
Height adjustable driver's seat
Tilt-adjustable steering

I found myself using the steering-wheel mounted audio controls a lot on the drive to work during the week long test of the Holden Barina, which come in very handy when flicking between AM radio stations. 

The height adjustable driver's seat is a good thing to have if you like a higher driving position and power windows are always a blessing at fast-food drive-thru outlets.

It steers well, has a lot of character, and the brakes are deliver good stopping power should you ever need to pull up rapidly. It has a 220 litre boot which par for the course in this size of vehicle, but fold the rear seats down and 980 litres becomes available which is very good boot space.

Interior space for passengers is also quite good. I didn't find myself bumping my head or feeling claustrophobic. One thing I didn't like so much was the design. It hasn't changed much since 2005

As a first car the Barina is still a very good choice, but I think if I was in the market to buy one of these economical compact cars for my kids, I'd probably test a few other models along the way just to get broader idea.

That's not to say the Holden Barina isn't a good car. It fulfills all of its duties fairly well - it's just that some of its rivals have started pushing the boundaries of what was once a cheap and cheerful genre.

Overall: 3/5

Holden is preparing its South Australian factory to build a new small car (the Cruze) in 2010, but the Barina will continue as its compact car offering well beyond that time.

It's still a cute little car that owners will probably fall in love with and though it's a bit light on the road for my liking, first car buyers will find a lot of value here.

The Holden Barina is a familiar name and the current model sticks to the tried-and-tested recipe of affordability and fun-to-drive dynamics.Happy motoring and watch out for wombats!